In what was classified as one of the biggest contests of the year, VanDoorn was hoping to thread the needle through the 300-lap showdown and return to victory lane for the first time this season.
VanDoorn, driver of the No. 61 Paragon Corvette Reproductions / Baker Engineering / JEGS.com Chevrolet quickly proved that he had a contending car after the Kaos Motorsports team bolted out some of the quickest laps in practice.
With some tweaking by his crew, the Coopersville, Michigan native was eager for qualifying. During his qualifications lap, VanDoorn shot his Chevrolet bow-tie to the outside pole giving the team further confidence heading into the race.
With routine inversions set, VanDoorn had to relinquish his second place starting position and fall back to fifth for the 30-car starting field.
Showing patience and minding his matters, VanDoorn had advanced two positions by the half-time break allowing his team the opportunity to consult with their driver before sending him back into battle.
During the second-half of the event, VanDoorn began setting up for his charge towards the front. Moving into second place inside the race’s final 50 laps, the former CRA Rookie of the Year set his tractor beam on the leader.
As the laps began to wind down and VanDoorn distance shook, trouble would doom the team on lap 275 when a right front tire gave way forcing VanDoorn to bring his automobile to pit road. The misfortune would force the team to settle for a 14th place finish.
“We can’t buy a break if our life depended on it,” said VanDoorn. “On a positive note, the Kaos Motorsports team gave me an incredible racecar. It was fun to be fast and chasing for the win. I’m not sure what we’ll have to do to change our luck, I just hope it’s now run its course.”
Next up for the CRA Series is a trip to Michigan at Dixie Motor Speedway in Birch Run, Michigan for the running of the Dixie 125 set for Friday, August 19.
In 69 races, VanDoorn has posted six poles, eight wins, 25 top-fives and 47 top-10 finishes including back-to-back CRA championships in 2009 and 2010.
For more information on Johnny VanDoorn, please visit JohnnyVanDoorn.com.
For additional input on the Champion Racing Association (CRA), please click on CRARacing.net.
- Johnny VanDoorn Motorsports Press Release
